Photographer's Note

Picture taken in a small village on Bijagos Islands.

The Bissagos Islands, also spelled Bijagós (Portuguese: Arquipélago dos Bijagós), are a group of about 88 islands and islets located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the African nation of Guinea-Bissau. The archipelago was formed from the ancient delta of the Rio Geba and the Rio Grande and spans an area of 2,624 km2. Bijago also known as Bissagos, Bojagos, Anaki, Bidjogo, Bidyogo, and Bujagos are an ethnic group which can be encountered only in Guinea Bissau. It is argued that the country`s name "Bissau " came from the corruption of the name "Bissagos." It is a patchwork of mudflats, mangroves, palm groves and savanna grasslands which produce a wide diversity and abundance of natural resources. The archipelago currently has a population of some 25,000 inhabitants constituting over 2% of the total population of the country.
Bijago have traditionally resented all centralized authority,whether Portuguese,*French*, English, German or contemporary government officials. In 1447,when the Portuguese explorer, Nuna Tristao, tried to conquer the Bijagos, they killed him instantly because they do not want any form of rule except their matriarchal traditional system that create chiefs to rule them. The Bijagos rose up in rebellion against the Portuguese in 1900,1913-1915,1917,1918,1924 and 1936. Portugal did not consider the Bijago as pacified until 1936.